Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

College Enrollment and Work Activity of High School Graduates News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, April 27, 2017 USDL-17-0477
Technical information: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF
2016 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
(NOTE: This news release was reissued on Friday, November 17, 2017, to
correct an error in the text. The number of 16- to 24-year-olds
in the nation was incorrectly stated to be 22.1 million; the text was
corrected to state that this was the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who
were enrolled in high school or college.)
In October 2016, 69.7 percent of 2016 high school graduates were enrolled in
colleges or universities, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in October 2016 were about
twice as likely as enrolled graduates to be working or looking for work
(72.3 percent, compared with 38.4 percent).
Information on school enrollment and work activity is collected monthly in the
Current Population Survey (CPS), a nationwide survey of about 60,000 households
that provides information on employment and unemployment. Each October, a
supplement to the CPS gathers more detailed information about school enrollment,
such as full- and part-time enrollment status. Additional information about the
October supplement is included in the Technical Note.
Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts
Of the 3.1 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between
January and October 2016, about 2.2 million (69.7 percent) were enrolled in
college in October. The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates
in October 2016 was little changed from the rate in October 2015 (69.2 percent).
For 2016 high school graduates, the college enrollment rate was 71.9 percent for
young women and 67.4 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate of recent
Asian graduates (92.4 percent) was higher than for their Hispanic (72.0 percent),
White (69.7 percent), and Black (58.2 percent) counterparts. (See table 1.)
The labor force participation rate (the proportion of the population working or
looking for work) for recent high school graduates enrolled in college was 38.4
percent. The participation rates for male and female graduates enrolled in
college were 41.5 percent and 35.7 percent, respectively.
Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2016, about 9
in 10 were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students
were about half as likely to be in the labor force (34.6 percent) as were their
peers enrolled part time (77.1 percent).
About 2 in 3 recent high school graduates enrolled in college attended 4-year
colleges. Of these students, 31.5 percent participated in the labor force in
October 2016, lower than the 51.8 percent for recent graduates enrolled in
2-year colleges.
Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in the fall of 2016 were
much more likely than enrolled graduates to be in the labor force (72.3 percent,
compared with 38.4 percent). The unemployment rate for recent high school
graduates not enrolled in college was 19.3 percent, more than double the rate
of 8.0 percent for recent graduates enrolled in college.
Between October 2015 and October 2016, 513,000 young people dropped out of high
school. The labor force participation rate for recent dropouts (50.9 percent)
was lower than the rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in
college (72.3 percent). The jobless rate for recent high school dropouts was
31.9 percent in October 2016, higher than the rate for recent high school
graduates not enrolled in college (19.3 percent).
All Youth Enrolled in High School or College
In October 2016, 57.5 percent of the nation's 16- to 24-year-olds, or 22.1
million, were enrolled in high school (9.5 million) or in college (12.5 million).
The labor force participation rate (36.0 percent) and the unemployment rate
(8.4 percent) for youth enrolled in school were both essentially unchanged from
October 2015 to October 2016. (See table 2.)
In October 2016, high school students continued to be less likely than college
students to participate in the labor force (20.7 percent, compared with 47.7
percent). Female high school students were more likely to be in the labor force
(23.5 percent) than their male counterparts (18.1 percent).
Full-time college students were much less likely to participate in the labor
force in October 2016 than were part-time students (42.3 percent versus 83.3
percent). Among college students, labor force participation was lower for
Asians (31.2 percent) than for Blacks (45.0 percent), Hispanics (47.5 percent),
and Whites (49.8 percent). Labor force participation rates for female and male
college students were similar (48.3 percent and 47.0 percent, respectively).
The unemployment rate for high school students, at 16.3 percent in October
2016, was almost three times the rate for college students (5.9 percent). Among
Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics, unemployment rates were higher for high school
students than for college students.
All Youth Not Enrolled in School
In October 2016, 16.3 million persons age 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school.
The labor force participation rate of youth not enrolled in school, at 79.7
percent, was little changed over the year. Among youth not enrolled in school
in October 2016, young men continued to be more likely than young women to
participate in the labor force (83.7 percent, compared with 75.5 percent). Labor
force participation rates for not-enrolled men and women were highest for those
with a bachelor's degree or higher (92.9 percent and 91.9 percent, respectively)
and lowest for men and women with less than a high school diploma (69.6 percent
and 47.4 percent, respectively). (See table 2.)
The unemployment rate for youth age 16 to 24 not enrolled in school, at 11.2
percent, was little changed over the year. Among not-enrolled youth who did not
have a high school diploma, unemployment rates in October 2016 were 24.0 percent
for young men and 20.7 percent for young women. In contrast, the jobless rates
of young men and women with at least a bachelor's degree were 8.3 percent and
5.1 percent, respectively. Black youth not enrolled in school had an
unemployment rate of 20.4 percent in October 2016, higher than the rates for
their Hispanic (10.5 percent), White (9.4 percent), and Asian (7.7 percent)
counterparts.

Technical Note
The estimates in this release were obtained from a supplement to the October 2016
Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about 60,000 eligible households
that provides information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment for the nation.
The survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census
Bureau. Data in this release relate to the school enrollment status of persons 16 to 24
years of age in the civilian noninstitutional population in the calendar week that
includes the 12th of October. Updated population controls for the CPS are introduced
annually with the release of January data. Additional information about population
controls is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals
upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When
a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the
sample estimates may differ from the true population values they represent. The component
of this difference that occurs because samples differ by chance is known as sampling error,
and variability is measured by the standard error, and variability is measured by the
standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence,
that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from
the true population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted
at the 90-percent level of confidence.
The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for
many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to
obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of
respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or
processing of the data.
Additional information about the reliability of data from the CPS and estimating
standard errors is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.
Concepts
The principal concepts used in connection with the school enrollment series are described
briefly below.
School enrollment. Respondents were asked whether they were currently enrolled in a
regular school, including day or night school in any type of public, parochial, or other
private school. Regular schooling is that which may advance a person toward a high school
diploma or a college, university, or professional degree. Such schools include elementary
schools, junior or senior high schools, and colleges and universities.
Other schooling, including trade schools; on-the-job training; and courses that do not
require physical presence in school, such as correspondence courses or other courses of
independent study, is included only if the credits granted count towards promotion in
regular school.
Full-time and part-time enrollment in college. College students are classified as
attending full time if they were taking 12 hours of classes or more (or 9 hours of
graduate classes) during an average school week and as part time if they were taking
fewer hours.
High school graduation status. Persons who were not enrolled in school at the time of
the survey were asked whether they had graduated from high school. Those who had graduated
were asked when they completed their high school education. Persons who had not graduated,
that is, school dropouts, were asked when they last attended a regular school. Those who
were enrolled in college at the time of the survey also were asked when they graduated
from high school.
Recent high school graduates. Persons who completed high school in the calendar year
of the survey (January through October) are recent high school graduates.
Recent high school dropouts. Persons who were not enrolled in school at the time of
the survey, attended school a year earlier, and did not have a high school diploma are
recent dropouts.

Table 1. Labor force status of 2016 high school graduates and 2015-16 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2016 [Numbers in thousands]

(1) Data refer to persons who graduated from high school in January through October 2016(2) Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2015 and October 2016

NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria (values not shown where base is less than 75,000).

Table 2. Labor force status of persons 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2016 [Numbers in thousands]

(1) Includes a small number of persons enrolled in grades below high school.(2) Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.(3) Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.

NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria (values not shown where base is less than 75,000).